Alabama has taken the crown previously held by Mississippi as the most conservative state in the union, according to a new Gallup poll. Last year the top four were Mississippi, Utah, and Wyoming, with Alabama coming in fourth. Overall, Americans in 2012 remained more likely to identify as conservative (38%) than as moderate (36%) or as liberal (23%), although liberals have gained 2 percentage points compared to 2011.

On the liberal side, the medalists have gotten stronger. Washington DC, Massachusetts, and Oregon, the 2011 liberal top three, retain their titles in 2012, as more residents identify as liberal than the prior year. Residents of Washington DC are more liberal than the highest state, Massachusetts, by over ten percentage points.

Below are Gallup’s top ten most conservative and top ten most liberal states in the union.

Top 10 Most Conservative

1. Alabama–50.6% conservative

2. North Dakota (tie)–48.6%

2. Wyoming (tie)–48.6%

4. Mississippi–48.2%

5. Utah–48.0%

6. Oklahoma–47.3%

7. Idaho–47.1%

8. Louisiana–45.6%

9. Nebraska (tie)–45.3%

9. Arkansas (tie)–45.5%

Top 10 Most Liberal

1. District of Columbia–40.8% liberal

2. Massachusetts 30.5%

3. Oregon 29.3%

4. Vermont 29.2%

5. Delaware (tie)–28.4%

5. Connecticut (tie)–28.4%

6.Washington (tie)–28.3%

6. Rhode Island (tie)–28.3%

7. Hawaii (tie)–27.7%

7. New York (tie)–27.7%

Gallup’s results were based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2012, with a random sample of 211,972 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Margins of error for individual states are no greater than ±6 percentage points, and are ±3 percentage points in most states. The margin of error for the District of Columbia is ±6 percentage points.